REAL PEOPLE, REAL ISSUES

May 24, 2010

Janelle Monáe Talks Upcoming Single, Video and Diddy: "I'm His Boss"

When your album is one of the most anticipated releases of 2010, such
pressure on most artists would be crushing. But not for Janelle
Monáe. With her full-length debut The
ArchAndroid set to drop on May 18, and its first single
“Tightrope” (featuring one-time mentor Big Boi of
OutKast fame) still making noise, the soul-rock rebel is already gearing
up for her next musical statement.

“My next single is “Cold War” and we already shot the video,” Monáe
told VIBE of the dramatic clip. “I actually saw it for the first time a
few days ago. It’s touching…it makes me cry every time I watch it. It’s a
very venerable song and moment and video for me.” For the original
treatment of the video, Monáe envisioned a movie-style feel for “Cold
War’s” overtly emotional, theatrical lyricism. “But it was a one-take
shot and I decided to leave it at that,” she explains. “I had more
intended for it, but once I saw this one-take I said, ‘oh, this is it.’
This is what I connected to most.”

One other aspect of the ArchAndroid project that still has
many music fans talking is her surprising union with Sean
“Diddy” Combs’ Bad Boy Records. Witnessing the more mainstream,
commercial centered Diddy join up with the left field, genre-jumping
Monáe is indeed a head-scratcher. But Monáe believes that longtime fans
need not worry.

“Well, this is a partnership and it’s a very unique one,” she says of
her Bad Boy affiliation. “I have my own recording label, the Wonderland
Arts Society. Sean Combs came into my life while I was already
releasing Metropolis Suite I of IV: The Chase. He’s a huge
champion of the Wonderland Arts Society and myself. He’s an endorser of
our campaign, mission and message. Further more, I’m his boss [laughs].
This is not the story of man meets artist…he respects me for who I am.
And he respects our ideas. He’s been very supportive of what’s going on;
he wants to help us expose our message to the mainland.”

Comments

Janelle Monáe Talks Upcoming Single, Video and Diddy: "I'm His Boss"

When your album is one of the most anticipated releases of 2010, such
pressure on most artists would be crushing. But not for Janelle
Monáe. With her full-length debut The
ArchAndroid set to drop on May 18, and its first single
“Tightrope” (featuring one-time mentor Big Boi of
OutKast fame) still making noise, the soul-rock rebel is already gearing
up for her next musical statement.

“My next single is “Cold War” and we already shot the video,” Monáe
told VIBE of the dramatic clip. “I actually saw it for the first time a
few days ago. It’s touching…it makes me cry every time I watch it. It’s a
very venerable song and moment and video for me.” For the original
treatment of the video, Monáe envisioned a movie-style feel for “Cold
War’s” overtly emotional, theatrical lyricism. “But it was a one-take
shot and I decided to leave it at that,” she explains. “I had more
intended for it, but once I saw this one-take I said, ‘oh, this is it.’
This is what I connected to most.”

One other aspect of the ArchAndroid project that still has
many music fans talking is her surprising union with Sean
“Diddy” Combs’ Bad Boy Records. Witnessing the more mainstream,
commercial centered Diddy join up with the left field, genre-jumping
Monáe is indeed a head-scratcher. But Monáe believes that longtime fans
need not worry.

“Well, this is a partnership and it’s a very unique one,” she says of
her Bad Boy affiliation. “I have my own recording label, the Wonderland
Arts Society. Sean Combs came into my life while I was already
releasing Metropolis Suite I of IV: The Chase. He’s a huge
champion of the Wonderland Arts Society and myself. He’s an endorser of
our campaign, mission and message. Further more, I’m his boss [laughs].
This is not the story of man meets artist…he respects me for who I am.
And he respects our ideas. He’s been very supportive of what’s going on;
he wants to help us expose our message to the mainland.”

September 2012

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